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Sorrowful Jones
Sorrowful Jones is a 1949 feature film from Paramount Pictures starring Bob Hope and Lucille Ball. Summary Sorrowful Jones is a New York bookie who keeps his operation hidden behind a trap door in a Broadway barber shop. He suffers a financial setback when a horse named Dreamy Joe, owned by gangster Big Steve Holloway, unexpectedly wins a race and Jones has to pay all the bettors. Jones learns that the race was fixed by Big Steve, who tells him about giving the horse a "speedball." It turns out Big Steve has informed all the bookies in his circle of friends about the fixed race, and demands a sum of $1,000 from each one of them in exchange for this information. Before the next race, Jones learns Dreamy Joe will lose, but still takes bets on the horse from his customers. He even takes a bet from gambler Orville Smith, who leaves his four-year-old daughter Martha Jane as collateral. Orville overhears a phone call where Big Steve reveals that the race is fixed, so he is killed by one of Big Steve's goons, Once Over Sam. Jones is forced to take care of Martha Jane and brings her home with him. The next day Jones gets help from his ex-girlfriend, burlesque performer Gladys O'Neill. Big Steve tells Jones he is being investigated by the racing commission so he is quitting the race-fixing business. Big Steve plans to make one final race before he gets out of the game, where he is fixing it so that Dreamy Joe will win. He also transfers the ownership of the horse to Martha Jane, unaware that she is Orville's daughter. After the race, Big Steve will kill the horse by giving it a too high dose of "speedball." Jones tries to find Martha Jane's mother, but discovers she is dead. Gladys suggests that Jones give all of Dreamy Joe's winnings to Martha Jane to help her survive, or she will contact the police and tell them about Jones' operation. She has no knowledge of Big Steve's plan to fix the race. Big Steve finds out that Martha Jane is Orville's daughter, so Jones must hide her to protect her from being killed. When hiding on a fire escape's landing, Martha Jane falls down and is seriously injured. In a coma, the little girl calls out for Dreamy Joe. In order to save Martha Jane and wake her up, Jones and his partner Regret steal the horse from Big Steve at the race track. They take it into the hospital room where Martha Jane lies. Martha Jane wakes up and the police find out that Big Steve is responsible for Orville's murder. After Big Steve is arrested, Jones proposes to Gladys. The police wants Martha Jane to be placed in an orphanage, but Jones and Gladys, who have married, decide to adopt the girl. They go away on their honeymoon together with their newly adopted daughter. Cast * Bob Hope as Sorrowful Jones * Lucille Ball as Gladys * Bruce Cabot as Big Steve * William Demarest as Regret * Mary Jane Saunders as Martha Jane Category:Movies